Another door might have opened for the Nashville Predators this Trade Deadline.
As the center market heats up, with names like Vincent Trocheck, Robert Thomas, and Nazem Kadri taking the cake, many teams will look to explore their options as Friday creeps up. To Nashville, their center trade candidate Ryan O'Reilly isn't really a "candidate" rather a trade choice.
O'Reilly has made it clear that he doesn't want to leave the Nashville scene, and the team has defended it. However, recent events could pressure the Predators into opening the floodgates for more deals to come, including a move involving the Factor.
TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reported that the New Jersey Devils are taking calls for their promising young defenseman Å imon Nemec. New Jersey is seventh in the Metropolitan and ninth in the Wildcard race in the East. While the team is expected to be sellers at the deadline, LeBrun said that the team might look to move on from younger pieces to upgrade their forward core.
Going to be interesting to see what happens on the Simon Nemec front. Devils are taking calls on the second overall pick from '22. No shortage of teams checking in. New Jersey happy to keep him, but if there's a deal that upgrades their forwards in a real way, they're going to…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 4, 2026
Nemec, 22, is having a breakout year with New Jersey, scoring nine goals and 21 points with a +1-point differential in 47 games. His previous highest was in his rookie season where he tallied three goals and 19 points in 60 games.
He missed 12 games this season with a lower-body injury and since his return, he hasn't played at the same rate he was playing before. Prior to injury, he was on pace for 47 points but is now on pace for 31. Nemec has only recorded three points since his return.
The former 2022 2nd overall draft pick is on the final year of his entry level contract, making him a pending RFA this offseason. Current circumstances between both the Predators and Devils make a deal involving O'Reilly and Nemec completely valid.
Devils showed interest in O'Reilly in the past, they could circle back
New Jersey explored a trade with O'Reilly last season, but it eventually fell apart due to Preds GM Barry Trotz's high cost. This season could be different. Trotz is retiring after this season and from the looks of it, has realized that he needs to give Nashville some future hope. Peeling the Band-Aid with trades involving Michael McCarron and Cole Smith is showing the league that we're sellers.
With the league realizing what we're under now, they're going to want to press for a piece. Even though the Devils are pretty far out from the playoffs this season, it's not going to stop them from pursuing more veterans. They already have the youth in Jack and Luke Hughes, Dawson Mercer, and Nico Hischier. Now all they need is some reliable veteran talent to kickstart a playoff run.
A centerman is what New Jersey needs desperately. Its top two center pieces are locked up so the team is exploring the bottom two. Former Preds center Cody Glass mans the third line and Nick Bjugstad mans the fourth. Swap Bjugstad for Glass and the third line is open for a big name. O'Reilly is quite frankly the perfect candidate to fill this role. Assuming his injury isn't season-altering, this makes sense.
He's one of the best faceoff performers in the league, carrying an impressive 55.6%-win rate over his 17-season career. New Jersey ranks 14th among the league's faceoff W% leaders with 50.6. Offensively, the Devils rank fourth last in goals scored with 156. If they want to get a quicker start on offense, snagging O'Reilly is a must. His 22 goals and 37 assists this season with Nashville is a good sign that there's still some gas left in the tank for O'Reilly.
Currently, the Devils lack the cap space to take on O'Reilly's $4.5 million AAV contract so Nashville must retain or take back salary. Considering most the players for a salary swap are veterans or core pieces to New Jersey, retention might be the only way. Unless a three-team trade occurs, this is the only way Nashville can send him over.
Nemec fills a hole in the Preds lineup, taking over right side on defense
The 6'1" 190 lbs. defenseman is often overshadowed by his fellow right-side defensemen. Brett Pesce mans the top line with Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton controls the 2nd with Jonas Siegenthaler. That leaves Nemec to man the third and final defensive line for the Devils. If you're the second overall pick, you'd expect to get a ton of ice time. For Nemec, that isn't the case.
Taking a look at Nashville, the Predators got empty spots for days. Roman Josi is LHD at the heart and should really play that side. Brady Skjei actually is on the left side of the first defensive line instead of Josi. Nemec would be the ideal pair for Josi instead of Skjei, who should really be the second line LHD.
Comparing Nemec to Skjei, it's almost lopsided. Offensively, Nemec out-shoots Skjei with harder shots. He also outcompetes him with his shot diversity. He has an accurate shooting percentage on the left side, indicating strong one-timer potential. Skjei only has one goal this season with drastically more ice time.
Even though speed is more on Skjei's side according to NHL EDGE, Nemec makes up for it in his two-way game. On average, he skates more miles than Skjei with 8.71 mi compared to 8.16 mi. In zone time, Nemec is a different beast. He spends most of his ice time in the offensive zone with his presence there 43.3% of the time compared to Skjei's 42.4%.
He also gets more starts in the offensive zone, showing that coaches aren't afraid to put him out there when offense is needed. Nemec's 12 assists this season is comprised of seven primary assists, demonstrating that he is good at not only guiding plays, but truly setting them up for a finisher.
Using Moneypuck to compare Nemec and Skjei, there's a few things to note. Skjei does have more hits with 53 compared to Nemec's 13. New Jersey gives slightly less hits (1111) than Nashville (1124) does so team dynamics don't have much play here. Nemec has blocked more shots (66) than Skjei (61) and has more takeaways (20) as well respectively (17). Skjei turns over the puck way more than Nemec with 88 compared to 42.
I'm not saying that Nemec is better than Skjei, but these stats are still important to look over when acquiring a defenseman. Now, for what a trade could look like, that's still a question. However, here's my guess to what could go down if both sides agree.
New Jersey would most likely give up their 2027 first over 2026 because they aren't exactly in the best position to give it up. This draft class is deep, and the Devils might want to snag a potential superstar. Once O'Reilly is added to the squad, they could go on a run and be a top team in the league, making their 2027 first almost useless in the draft.
Trotz's asking price for the Factor before was a first and top prospect and this trade suits that. Not only do they get Nemec, but they also get a pick that could be useful if paired with their 2027 pick to move up in the draft.
This is hypothetical of course. As mentioned previously, both O'Reilly and the Predators are loyal and don't want to leave each other just yet. However, it only takes one massive offer to sway the views of management to consider a trade. We'll have to see what goes down leading up to Friday.